Celtics Forward Rejects Potential James Harden Trade To Boston

Getty Images Tristan Thompson and Semi Ojeleye high five during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden

As the rumors surrounding James Harden and the Houston Rockets heat up, the Boston Celtics continue to be mentioned as a top suitor in a potential trade for the All-Star guard.

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Kelly Iko reported that sources told them the Celtics along with the Portland Trail Blazers are among his preferred destinations, at the moment. This comes, of course, after the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers were first mentioned as Harden’s favorites, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat later joining the list.

However, how would Harden’s potential new teammates feel about the idea of playing with the league’s reigning scoring champion? Luckily for Celtics fans, backup forward Semi Ojeleye gave us, at least, one opinion.


Boston Celtics’ Semi Ojeleye On James Harden Potentially Coming To Boston: ‘I Don’t Know If He’d Fit’

Before taking on the Brooklyn Nets Friday night, Ojeleye, an open gaming enthusiast, answered a question via his Twitch stream about Harden potentially coming to Boston.

“What do you think about Harden rumors coming to Boston?” Ojeleye read the question aloud, via Chris Grenham of Forbes. “Honestly, I don’t know if he’d fit.”

Celtics fans will certainly appreciate Ojeleye’s honesty. While some of Boston’s faithful doesn’t hate the idea of seeing The Beard donned in green-and-white, others are petrified at the thought.

That’s mostly because there’s a great chance Jaylen Brown would be featured as the centerpiece of any potential trade package that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge puts together. Sure, it’s a very small sample size up to this point, but I’m sure most would agree that Brown’s offense, thus far, is what’s been most impressive about the Celtics’ first two games this season.

After his spectacular 33-point show Opening Night against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, Brown followed it up on Christmas Day, scoring 27 points on 11-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-9 from the free-throw line.


Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown For Houston Rockets’ James Harden?

Averaging 30 points in two games, Brown leads the team in scoring while shooting at a 49.0% clip from the floor to go with his 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Brown, who spoke to the media after Friday’s 123-95 loss against the Nets, was asked if his offseason approach differed from years past in the wake of such a short turnaround.

“Nothing (different than what) I always do, just embracing the challenge of a new role and opportunity,” Brown said. “Just trying to get better each and every year. I think the offense is making good strides. Obviously, I think we played some good basketball for about three and a half quarters but those guys put a lot of pressure on us – it’s the shot-making ability; we got to stay with it. We still got a lot of growth, a lot of learning in front of us.

“But I’m looking forward to it, we got a good group and I liked how we competed for about three and a half quarters. We got to build on that. Keep it rolling.” 

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